3 Other Names for Teluk Intan
The name Teluk Mak Intan was taken from a beautiful widow named Mak Intan, a merchant from Mandahiling, Sumatra. She is said to have been the pioneer who opened up Teluk Intan around the early 19th century. At that time, the area explored by Mak Intan was known as Pekan Mak Intan. Following this exploration, many people of Javanese, Rawa, Mandahiling, Minangkabau, Kampar, and later Indian-Bombay descent came to inhabit the newly explored area. Most of them were farmers and traders of traditional goods such as spices, textiles, asafoetida, betel nut cutters, machetes, and so on. Effective January 1, 1982, the town changed its name from Teluk Anson to Teluk Intan.
On November 14, 1882, a meeting of the Perak State Council decided to change the name of Teluk Mak Intan to Teluk Anson. The British Resident in Perak, Hugh Low, had proposed to the State Council that the name of the bay be changed to Teluk Anson to commemorate the services of General Archibald Anson, who was a District Officer of Lower Perak. There are several versions of the story regarding how this bay at the mouth of the Perak River got the name Teluk Mak Intan. The first story tells of a wealthy widow, businesswoman, and noblewoman in the village named Mak Intan. Because of her wealth and business acumen, the village at the bay was called Teluk Mak Intan. The second story tells of an incident where a woman bathing in the bay lost a diamond that adorned her hair bun. So, when traders asked for the name of the bay, the local residents would say 'Teluk Intan Hilang' (Lost Diamond Bay). In short, it was just called Teluk Mak Intan. In several other records, this place is given different names.
In the minutes of the Perak State Council meeting in 1882, there is a record noting the name of this bay as Teluk Ma’ Hitam. Resident Hugh Low gave it the name Melintang. A Malay writer called this place Teluk Mak Intan. In 1880, 6 years after British intervention in Perak, the administrative center of Lower Perak was in Durian Sebatang. However, General Archibald Anson, the District Officer of Lower Perak, found Teluk Mak Intan more suitable. He moved his administrative center there. He reorganized the layout and plan of the town of Teluk Mak Intan. But with the awareness of creating its own identity, on January 1, 1982, after a century had passed, the Perak State Government replaced the name Teluk Anson with Teluk Intan. Thus, Teluk Intan had 3 other names before this, as mentioned above: Teluk Mak Intan, Teluk Anson, and Teluk Ma' Hitam.
